Story by Nattha Keenapan (This story was published in Outlook, Bangkok Post on October 11, 2010)

UDONTHANI, Thailand – Among the many things on the “to do” list of 30-year-old Namaoy Satrom, who the day before had given birth to a healthy baby girl at Udon Thani Provincial Hospital, was something she had never realized the importance of before: registering her child’s birth.

“The nurse kept reminding me to register my baby at birth,” said Namaoy, an Udon Thani farmer. “I didn’t understand before that my child could miss out on many important things in life if she doesn’t have a birth certificate.”